Climate change threat to North Sea oil and gas output from increasingly intense storms

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/climate-change-threat-to-north-sea-oil-and-gas-output-from-increasingly-intense-storms-caused-by-global-warming-8652817.html

Climate change threat to North Sea oil and gas output from increasingly intense storms caused by global warming



The North Sea oil and gas industry is set to lose hundreds of millions of pounds a year as global warming threatens to unleash increasingly frequent and intense storms, producing bigger waves that could damage platforms and make it harder for staff to do their jobs, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned today.

Announcing that global greenhouse emissions jumped by 1.6 per cent to a new record last year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said the world is on course for a 4C temperature increase in the long-term. This is double the 2C global warming goal agreed by nearly 200 countries but yet to be translated into a legally-binding target.

"A 2C difference doesn't mean that you just need to take your jacket off, it would have devastating implications," said IEA chief economist Fatih Birol.

Unless the world takes dramatic action to curb greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, we can expect "sudden and devastating" consequences, such as a significant increase in the frequency and severity of storms, he warned.